Hand tool for making rugs



Aug. 5, 1952 M. s. HURLEY HAND TOOL FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND

THE LIKE WITH A CUT PILE Filed Dec. 7, 1949 FIGJ. I

' 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ava/sum.-

' Mam/v SW5? Haney nrronlvy g- 5, 1952 M. s. HURLEY 2,605,727

HAND TOOL FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS, AND THE LIKE WITH A CUT PILE FiledDec. 7. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 b MS.

ATTORNEY Aug. 5, 1952 M. s. HURLEY HAND TOOL FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS,AND

THE LIKE WITH A CUT FILE? Filed D80. 7. 1949v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 F IGS. FIGb.

--FIG. 4.

r m R V fl. R E 7 L M w M. S. HURLEY HAND TOOL FOR MAKING RUGS, CARPETS,AND

THE LIKE WITH A CUT PILE Aug. 5, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 7.1949 Avg/v m 1 Mam Smsk/Mzgf ATT'oRNEy Patented Aug. 5, 1952 HAND TOOLFOR MAKING BUGS, CAR/PETS, AND THE LIKE WITH A CUT PILE Melvin SivyerHurley, Tondu, near Bridgend, England Application December 7, 1949,Serial No. 131,537

' In Great Britain December 10, 1948 10 Claims. (01. 112-s0) Thisinvention has for itsobject the provision of a new or improved hand toolfor making rugs, carpets and the like with a cut pile.

Rug-making hand tools hitherto used have usually comprised a piercingneedle to which the wool or other yarn is supplied in continuous length,the needle being tubular and having a stop member which determines theextent to which it can penetrate the hessian or other backing material.With this known kind of hand tool theneedle is operated to pierce asuccession orrow of holes in the backing material and leave therein alength of the yarn forming a continuous or connected series or row ofloops, one for each hole, the size or length of each loop beingdetermined by the position of the limiting stop on the needle. After arow or number of rows of connected loops have been inserted inthebackingmaterial in this way, the loopsrequire to be cut with a pair ofscissors to produce a cut pile.

My improved hand tool comprises two main or body members which are insliding engagement with each other and are provided with handles bywhich each can be reciprocated on the other, andthe first member carriesa piercing needle for inserting the loops of wool into the backingmaterial and the second carries means for hold ing a completed loop andscissors for cutting the loop, the scissors being positively opened andclosed by means carried by the first member and co-operating with oneblade of the scissors at appropriate points in the relative movementbetween the members. I

The two body members are conveniently formed from sheet metal and are ofchannel section, the flanges of one member having outwardly cranked lipswhich are slidably received in complementary guiding grooves on theflanges of the other member. V

The scissors and the loop holding means are carried by superimposedflexible arms mounted in the channel of the second body member so thatthey are resiliently urged towards the needle on the other member, andthe projecting part of the needle which is forced through the backingmaterial is conveniently of channel section so that it forms a guide forthe scissors, and when the scissors are advanced through the backingmaterial they pass through the hole which the needle has made and inwhich it lies. Then when the needle is withdrawn the spring arm pushesthe needle over and the tool is moved bodily over so that when theneedle is inserted again it makes a fresh hole in the backing materialspaced at a predetermined distance from the I. them to be opened again.

One practical form of my improved tool is illustrated by Way of examplein the accompany-'- ing drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation'of-the tool. 4 dFigure 2 is a similarelevation from the other s1e.. A. V.

Figure 3 is an end view of the tool on a-larger scale.

Figure 4 is an elevation fromthe inside of-one body member of the tooland the parts associated Withit. v V

Figure 5 is a similar elevation from the inside: of the other bodymember and the parts associ-. e h t i -.,V Figure 6 isa sectionron theline fiffinoiEig-e. ure V I i i Figures '7, 3 and 9 are elevationsofthe-lower: part of the tool showing the parts in threedifier entpositions in the formation and cutting, of a; loop of wool. I 4

In the drawings 50, H are the we co-operating,

main or body "members of'th'etool. Both are made from steel sheet andare of ehenhei section with their open faces abutting. The nazigeslbrthe member II are formed with" oiitwafrdly cranked lips l2 whichareislidably received in complementary guiding grooves l3 on thin'eniber in formed by folding the edges'of the'fl ang'es of the member [0 asshown moreparticularly in Figure 3.

The two members arethus' coupled together for relative sliding movementin a longitudinal" direction. 1

Each of the members 10, H is "provided with-a loop handle l4 formed froma bent strip of metal secured at its ends to the membenthegrip part ofthe handle preferably beingcover'ed -with plastic for comfort.

At the lower end of the member It the'fianges of the channel. arepartially cut away and-the' remainder is tapered to form a pointed-ne'edl'e i5 An eye I6 is pierced inthe needle a short distance from itspoint and the metal abovethe eye is pressed in as shown at I1 to form a'lead for" the wool which is threaded through the' eye'. The wool isguided to the eye by threading it through an opening in a lug I8projecting from a channel shaped pressing [9 which is secured to thebody member by a nut 20- ona ,scrfew; .2l.. The lug 8 also forms a stopto limit the penetra's;

tion of the needle through the backing material and hence the length ofthe loop made in the wool, and if it is desired that this should beadjustable a longitudinal slot may be provided in the pressing M for thescrew so that by slackening the nut 26 the lug is can be adjustedlongitudinally relative to the needle, The nut 23 may also serve asshown to secure the lower end of the handle.

The means for securing the upper end of the handle to the member It!also secure the upper end of a blade spring 22, andthe lower end of thespring has secured to it a channel shaped pressing 23 which freelyembraces the member It and the limbs of which extend over the sides ofthe member Ii. One limb of the pressing is cut away as shown in Figure1' to form a substan- 'f tially rectangular lug 24 which works between alaterally extending tongue 25 cranked outwardly bers Ill and H, and ifdesiredthe pressing 2'! carrying the upper lug may I be longitudinallyadjustable on the member The other limb of the pressing is cut away asshown in Figure'Z to form a cam 23 of which the bottom edge is at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of the tool and the upper edge isinclined.

In the inside of the channel of the member It} there is fixed a hardenedsteel strip 23 or which the lower end is shaped to form a cam or tooth30 projecting forwardly towards the Other'memher and adapted to engageone limb of the scissors to open the scissors as described below. .Thestrip 29 is secured to the member |B bya screw 3| and the strip may beformed with-several longitudinally spaced holes 32 as shown in Figure 4to receive the screw so that the longitudinal position of the tooth 30can be ad usted.

'l'he'member H has secured within its channel two superimposed springsteel strips 33, 34, as shown in Figures and 6, Which'are secured to themember at their upper ends by a screw .35. Both strips are curved sothat their free ends diverge from the base of the channel as'shown moreparticularly'in Figure 6, and one or each of the strips may be madelongitudinally adjustable on the member II by providing it with a slotor with several longitudinally spaced holes for the screw 35. f The freeend of the inner'strip 33 carries two or more parallel downwardlyprojecting pins 36, of which. only one appears in the drawings, andwhich are clamped between the lower end of the strip and a sheet metalclamps ing member 31 which is secured to the strip by rivets 38. Theclamping member 31 has an outwardly cranked lug 39 adapted to engage thebacking material and to limit the penetration of the pins and thescissors. I

The free end of the other strip 34 is shaped to form one blade 40 of thescissors, and the other.

blade 4| is pivoted to it by a rivet 42. The tail of the blade 4| isextended upwardly and is shaped to form a lug 43 which projects througha gap formed by cutting away a portion of one side wall of the memberThe lug 43 has an inclined edge 44 for engagement with the cam 28 on thepressing 23 to close the scissors and a pointed heel part 45 forengagement by the tooth 30 on the strip 29 to-open the scissors. Thepoints of'the scissors are arranged to project from the lower end of themember II for substantially the same distance as the pins 33.

The two strips 33, 34 carrying the pins and the scissors can be flexedtowards the base of the member II but the extent of this movement islimited by the engagement of the strip 33 with a screw 46 which isadjustably screwed through a nut 4'! onrthe inside of the base and islocked by a nut 48 which lies outsidethe base and also serves to holdthe lower end of the handle l4.

When the two body members are assembled together and are in substantialalignment'in a longitudinal direction as shown in Figures 1 and 2 theresilience of the strips 33 and 34 holds the scissors blades within thechannel of the piercing needle. The two body members can be separated orengaged with each other when desired by forcing the pressing 23rearwardly on its spring blade 22 far enough to allow it to clear thelug 25 or the lug 26 and then sliding the one member longitudinallyrelative to the other.

The operation of the tool is shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9 in which thecanvas or other backing materialis shown at 49 and the wool at 5B. Thewool is threaded through the hole in the lug l8 and through the eye ofthe needle.

Holding the tool vertically, by the handles the operatormoves themember; l3 downwardly to force the needle [5 through the backing 49until its progress is arrested by the lug [8. The needle carries thewool with it through the backing to form a loop 5|. The parts are thenin the position shown in Figure 7. I I

The member H is then moved downwardly until the lug 39 engages thebacking. The scissors, which are open, slide down inside the chane nelpart of the needle through the hole made by the needle and straddle thewool loop adjacent to the eye of the needle, and the pins 36 straddlethe previously formed loop, if any, and hold it against the backing. Theparts are then approximately in the positions shown in Figure 8. In thedownward movement of the member I the lug '43 on the angularly movableblade 4| of the scissors engages the inclined upper edge of the lug 28and simply pushes the member 23 aside as shown'in Figure 8 so that thescissors .are not affected.

Next the member H1 is drawn upwardly again to withdraw the needle fromthe backing, andthe needle leaves behind it the formed loop with itsbight straddled by the open scissor blades as shown in Figure 8.

The whole tool is then displaced laterally, to the right in thedrawings, to the extent allowed by the flexing' of the spring strings 33and 34 as limited by the screw 45.

The needle is thus displaced laterally from the first hole through apredetermined distance and when the member ID is moved downwardly againit makes a fresh hole in the backing and takes the wool with it to makeanother loop. In this movement of the member ||l theinclined edge 44 ofthe lug 43 is engaged by the bottom edge of the cam 28 which forces thelug 43 inwardly to closethe scissors and cut the loop straddled by them.

The member is then drawn upwardly to withdraw the scissors from thefirst hole and return the parts to the position shown in Figure 7, andas the member In is approaching the end of this movement the tooth 38engages the point 45 on the blade 4| of the scissors and positivelyopens the scissors again.

The resilience of the strips 33 and 34 moves the scissors back intoengagement with the needle and as the member II is moved downwardlyagain the scissors pass through the hole just made by the needle whilethe pins 36 hold down the wool in advance of the out which has been madeto ensure that the wool feeds through the needle when the needle isagain withdrawn.

Positive opening and closing of the scissors allows the blades to be setin really efiective engagement with each other and ensures aclean cut ofeach loop of the wool. I I p The above description of the operation ofthe tool is necessarily somewhat complicated as the functionalrelationship between the various parts during the relative movementofthe two body members has had to be explained in detail but the actualpractical operation of the tool is extremely simple.

After threading the wool through the needle the operator simply holdsthe tool vertically over' the backing material and reciprocates the twomembers alternately in a vertical direction while maintaining a downwardand lateral pressure on the tool.

Successive rows of cut loops can thus be made very quickly and with aminimum of effort.

I claim:

1. In a hand tool for making out pile rugs having two body memberscarrying a loop inserting needle and loop cutting scissors respectivelywhich members are interengaged for manually controlled longitudinalsliding movement relatively to each other to permit the scissors to bead-- vanced through a hole which the needle has made in backing materialand to straddle the loop inserted through the hole by the needle, meansfor positively closing and opening the blades of said scissors atappropriate points in the relative movement between the members, saidmeans including a rigid abutment on a movable blade of the scissors, afixed abutment on said needle carrying member adapted to enter intopositive sliding engagement with said movable blade abutment to open thescissor blades when the scissor carrying member is withdrawn from thebacking material, and a spring loaded abutment on the needle carryingmember adapted to enter into positive sliding engagement with saidmovable blade abutment to close the scissor blades when the needle isinserted in the backing material.

2. A hand too-l as specified in claim 1 wherein the movable blade of thescissors is pivoted to a resilient strip secured at one end to thescissor carrying member, the other end of said strip being shaped toform a fixed scissor blade cooperating with the movable blade and bothblades being inclined toward said needle carrying member. I

3. A hand tool as specified in claim 1 including two superimposedresilient strips secured at one end to the scissors carrying member andcurved to bias their free ends towards the needle carrying member, loopholding pins on the free end of one strip immediately adjacent thescissor carrying member, and a fixed scissor blade formed on the freeendof the other strip, the movable scissor blade being pivoted on andcurved to conform to the curvature of said fixed scissor blade.

4. A hand tool for making out pile rugs comprising in combination, twochannel-section body members having their longitudinal edges bentoutwards to form flanges extending the complete length of the members,grooves formed by the flanges of one member, said grooves adapted toreceive the flanges of the other member so that the members are slidablyengaged for'relative longitudinal movement, a piercing andwool-receiving needle projecting from an end'of one of the members forinserting loops of wool into back-. ing material, scissors for cuttingthe loops yieldingly mounted in and projecting from the ad jacent end ofthe other member, said scissors being curved to incline towards theneedle to permit the scissors to be advanced through a hole which theneedle has made in the backing material and to straddle the loopinserted in the hole by the needle, a rigid abutment projecting from oneblade of the scissors, a spring-loaded saddle shaped abutment mounted onand straddling the needle body' member, said saddle-shaped abut- -mentbeing adapted to enter-into positive sliding engagement with saidscissor abutment to close the scissors when the needle is inserted inthe backin material, a fixed abutment secured within the channel of theneedle body member and adapted to enter into positive sliding engagementwith said scissor blade abutment to open the scissors when the scissorsbody member is withdrawn from the backing material, and stops on thescissors body member adapted to engage with said saddle shaped abutmentto limit longitudinal movement of the body members relatively to eachother.

5. A hand tool as specified in claim 4 having means for holding acompleted loop yieldingly mounted in and projecting from the scissorsbody member, said loop holding means being interposed between thescissors and the scissors body member and curved to incline towards theneedle.

6. A hand tool as specified in claim 4 wherein one of the stops isadjustable. I

7. A hand tool as specified in claim 4 having means for holding acompleted loop yieldingly mounted in the scissors body member andprojecting with the scissors therefrom, a stop on said loop holdingmeans limitin insertion of the loop holding means and scissors in thebacking material, and an apertured stop on the needle body memberlimitin insertion of the needle in the backing material.

8. A hand tool for making out pile rugs from a continuous length of yarncomprising in combination, body members interengaged for restrictedmanually controlled longitudinal sliding movement relatively to eachother, a fabric piercing needle on one body member, scissors on theother body member to cut a loop of yarn carried through a hole piercedin the fabric by said needle, means whereby the pivoted blades of thescissors are normally maintained in an open position, a tail movablewith a movable blade of the scissors but in opposite direction to saidmovable blade, and an abutment on the needle body mem ber adapted toenter the path of said tail as the scissors are withdrawn from thefabric to displace the tail so that the scissors are closed whereuponthe scissors are immediately reopened by the aforesaid means.

9. A hand tool for making out pile rugs from a continuous length of yarncomprising, in combination, two body members interengaged for manuallycontrolled longitudinal sliding movement relatively to each other, afabric piercing needle on one body member, scissors on the other bodymember to cut a loop of yarn carried through a hole pierced in thefabric by said needle, said scissors including a fixed blade and amovable blade pivoted on the fixed blade, resilient means integral withthe fixed scissor blade and. normally urging the scissors towards theneedle, a tail on the movable scissor blade, opposed cam surfaces onsaid tail, a first abutment on the needle body member adapted to engageone of said cam surfaces to close the scissor blades during withdrawalof the scissors from the fabrio and asecond abutment on the needle bodymember adaptedto engage the other cam surface to open the scissor bladesimmediately after they have been closed by said first abutment.

10. A hand tool as specified in claim 9 wherein relative movement of thebody members is restricted by astop on the needle body member engagingone or the other of spaced stops on the scissors body member, said stopon the needle body member being resiliently urged into the path of thespaced stops and adapted to be displaces; from h s path. t perunrestricted relative movement of the body members.

MELVIN SIVYER HURLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis. patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS,

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